


stop and smell the roses

by shandian



Category: League of Legends RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Multi, Slice of Life, various side ships tbd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 01:49:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15875994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shandian/pseuds/shandian
Summary: the one where score runs a flower shop.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is just a fun little slice-of-life thing that i've had at the back of my mind but couldn't find the words for because my writing skills have gotten rusty OTL i've also played around with their ages a little for this AU, but the order is still the same! there may be some side pairings to come but they're not too central to the story, hence the lack of tags :')

It was Dongbin’s grandfather who had first opened the Jungle and the flower shop had, for the most part, remained unchanged for the past fifty-four years. Dongbin’s father had installed new windows at the storefront, and Dongbin had made Kyungho repaint the front doors, but the interior was mostly the same – the space was filled from wall to wall with baskets of flowers and potted plants, and Dongbin still prepared bouquets on the same chipped counter. Even the bonsai tree perched next to the cash register was about the same size as it was when Dongbin first learned how to ring orders.    

As the only son in the family, Dongbin knew he would inherit the Jungle someday, and had accepted this fate long ago. He hadn’t minded helping out around the shop back when he was growing up, and even when he hadn’t known the names of the flowers, he had a good eye for colour and even the pickiest customers were usually satisfied with his arrangements.  And so when his parents had announced their early retirement, Dongbin had happily taken over the shop.

Dongbin had expected the days to pass slowly, but the shop was situated on a bustling street and the bells above the door jingled frequently to announce the entrance of both customers and curious passersby alike.

The bells sounded on a warm Tuesday afternoon and Dongbin stood on his toes to peer over the vase of roses he was arranging.

“Hey ahjussi, got any snacks?” a voice called out from behind an overflowing pot of ferns. It was one of the middle school brats, Heo Wonseok, closely followed by his friend, Kim Hyukkyu.

“I told you a million times already, I’m not an ahjussi _._ _”_ Dongbin made a mock stabbing motion with the scissors in his hand, but Wonseok remained unfazed and stared placidly back at him. “Don’t you kids have after-school clubs to go to?”

“It’s only the first week of school,” Hyukkyu replied in his usual mumble. The toy alpaca hanging from his backpack swung dangerously close to bonsai tree as he approached Dongbin. “Only the sports clubs have started practices.”

“Why didn’t you kids join a sports club, then?”  _Instead of loitering in my shop_.

“Because,” Kyungho piped up from the supply room where he was arranging boxes, “Hyukkyu would have collapsed from exhaustion during warm-ups.”

“Would not,” Hyukkyu shot back.   

“Would too.”

“Would not!”

Dongbin let out a small sigh and returned to the task at hand. Kyungho’s manners were usually impeccable around customers, but he tended to bicker endlessly with Hyukkyu whenever the kid dropped by the shop. Dongbin was pretty sure that Hyukkyu purposely came by during Kyungho’s shifts just to pester him, but Hyukkyu’s mother was a loyal customer and it was less of a hassle for Dongbin to just to tune them out.

Dongbin’s thoughts are interrupted by Wonseok, who tore open a bag of crab-flavoured crackers with a loud pop. “Hyung, why are you putting weeds in the vase?”

“W-weeds?” Dongbin choked out, glancing at the immaculate arrangement before him.

“Yeah, the green and white stuff,” Wonseok said between bites. “Sanghyuk says they suck the nutrients from the carrots so he always pulls them out.”

“They’re not  _weeds_ ,” Dongbin huffed. “They’re just baby’s breath.”

“But Sanghyuk said they’re weeds and he’s the president of the Gardening Club.”

Dongbin bit back a retort because he was far too old to be starting arguments with a middle schooler. Thankfully, the front doors of the shop opened and the bells signaled the arrival of a harried-looking businessman who seemed in desperate need of an anniversary bouquet for his wife. And so Dongbin shooed the brats out of the way, nudged Kyungho towards the supply room and pasted on a smile to greet his newest customer.


	2. Chapter 2

The Jungle was within walking distance from both the high school and middle school, so Dongbin has seen his fair share of students passing through the shop doors. The closest university, however, was a good thirty-minute bus ride away, which meant that the only college student who stopped by the shop was one of Kyungho’s friends, who doubled as Kyungho’s chauffeur and often picked him up after his shifts.

(“Please, Hojin-hyung isn’t qualified to be my chauffeur.” Kyungho had said with a roll of his eyes. “He barely knows how to drive and just wants a reason to show off his car.”)

Actually, there was one other college student who had become a regular – sort of.

The first time Cho Sehyung walked into the Jungle, he looked as if he had literally rolled out of bed: his hair was incomplete disarray, his t-shirt was both wrinkled and inside out, and his plastic slippers slapped loudly against the floor as he stalked up to the counter.

“One extra-large coffee, black,” he had said. His eyes had been a bit wild and noticeably bloodshot, even behind his glasses, and Dongbin’s grip on his shears tightened in alarm.

“Sir, this is a flower shop,” Dongbin had said in his most pleasant and soothing voice. “The café you’re looking for is across the street.”

Sehyung had visibly shaken himself, and Dongbin had watched as realization had dawned on his face when he took in his surroundings. He had mumbled something about exams and _that bastard_ , and had hurried out after a quick apology.

The second time Sehyung visited the shop was not much different than the first, and Dongbin was seriously contemplating posting a sign on the front window with directions to the café after the fourth time Sehyung stumbled in by mistake.

On Sehyung’s fifth visit, Dongbin was about to point him out the door when he realized that there was something different about him. Sehyung’s hair was still messy, but it was more on the side of ‘tousled’ than ‘unsalvageable’. His button-down seemed to be freshly ironed and he was wearing an actual pair of shoes in lieu of his usual slippers.

“I’m, uh, looking for a bouquet?” Sehyung said once he approached the counter.

“What’s the occasion?”

“It’s for a date. With someone I’ve been slee−I mean, seeing for a while.”

Dongbin wiped his hands with a towel and walked around the counter to point out the different varieties. None of his flower arrangement guides mentioned the kinds of flowers suitable for a fuckbuddy bouquet, but Dongbin had always been observant – after all, figuring out his customers’ needs and preferences was part of the job description – and it seemed like Sehyung cared a great deal about how the date would go.

And so Dongbin selected a few of the more neutral-coloured blossoms for the bouquet and a simple, but classy wrapping paper to match. He even added a pretty, tulle ribbon free of charge and smiled encouragingly as he handed Sehyung the finished product.

“There you go. Enjoy your date!”

“Thank you.” Sehyung’s smile was hesitant, but he held the bouquet carefully to his chest and gave Dongbin a small wave on his way out.

A month passed before Dongbin saw Sehyung again. Summer had arrived so Dongbin figured there were no all-nighter study sessions that Sehyung needed to make trips to the coffee shop for. A part of him hoped that Sehyung’s absence also meant that things had gone well with his date – being a bit of a romantic was apparently part of the job description as well – though it wasn’t until the beginning of fall that Dongbin finally found out what had happened.

“Dongbin-hyung, there’s a customer who wants to talk to you,” Kyungho called out. Dongbin was organizing the arrangements in the floral refrigerator and he glanced up when Kyungho knocked on the door.

“I’ll be right there” Dongbin answered. He stood, wiping his hands on his smock and walked out to the counter.

“Hey,” Sehyung said with a small smile. He was holding a cardboard tray of Starbucks in his hand and handed Dongbin an iced americano. “This is for you.”

“Why, thank you!” Dongbin said, taking a small sip of the drink. “What’s this for?”

Sehyung’s smile widened, making his cheeks even rounder and he looked almost cherubic. “I was in the area and just wanted to say thanks for the bouquet. My boyfriend loved it so much he forgot to glare at me when I showed up at his door.”

Kyungho let out a choked sort of sound at the word ‘boyfriend’ and Dongbin had to elbow him in the sides to stop him from making more of a scene. “I’m glad he liked it! The date went well, I assume?”

“Yeah,” Sehyung nodded. “We talked a lot about what we both wanted and it’s been…really good, actually.” Sehyung himself seemed a bit startled by the realization and Dongbin couldn’t help but smile. _Ah, young love_.

Dongbin waved him goodbye and added a “bring him with you next time!” and Sehyung laughed, returning the wave with his free hand.

When the door swung shut, Kyungho turned to him with a perplexed look on his face. “Did he say he has a _boyfriend_?”

“He sure did.”

“As in, the person he’s dating is a _dude_?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“And they still have sex, even though they’ve both got di−”

Dongbin gave Kyungho a hard shove towards the back room in the hopes of putting an end to the conversation. “What customers do in the bedroom is none of our business, Kyungho. Now go check on those irises; they look like they need watering.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a self-indulgent chapter because i just wanted some:  
> \- [hojin driving his dongsaeng around in his expensive car](https://youtu.be/2jVQ5YIgT-E)  
> \- score-sipping-starbucks.jpg  
> \- dysfunctional mata/dandy  
> \- smeb gay panicking  
> 


End file.
